1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to insect swatters, and particularly to insect swatters equipped with means for picking up a dead insect after it has been swatted.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A preliminary patentability search has not been made in connection with this application. Applicant knows of no prior art relating to insect swatters equipped with means for picking up a dead insect. The inventor named herein is the inventor named in U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,856 describing a fly catcher with adhesive lined head.
Very little thought and inventive creativity has been given to the design of insect swatters, particularly fly swatters, especially with respect to their effectiveness in striking a fly, thus either killing or stunning it, so that it may be picked up and disposed of in the conventional manner by using a paper towel, napkin or facial tisue. One such effort is exemplified in this inventor's previous U.S. Pat. No. 3,449,856 in which the head of the fly "swatter" is transparent so that it is less likely to be seen by the fly, and is disposed over the fly gently, not in a swatting manner, so that when the fly takes off, it becomes stuck on the adhesive provided on the inside of the head. One of the problems that has become apparent with that type of fly catching device is the problem of removal of the flies stuck to the adhesive surface. Experience has shown that flies stuck to the adhesive sometimes struggle for hours to release themselves, to no avail, and finally die, still stuck to the adhesive. Then the problem becomes one of removing the dead fly from the adhesive, or leaving the dead fly stuck on the adhesive in an unsightly and unsanitary manner, or disposing of the transparent head and replacing it with a fresh one.
Accordingly, it is one of the objects of the present invention to provide an insect swatter incorporating means for picking up a dead insect using the swatter itself and enabling disposal of the dead insect in an appropriate receptacle.
I have found that more often than not when an insect is swatted with a swatter, the insect is killed or stunned, but it is not smashed to the degree that body fluids are released causing the dead insect to adhere to the surface on which it is supported. Accordingly, another object of the invention is the provision of an insect swatter incorporating swatting means for swatting an insect, and means incorporated into the swatter head by which the carcass of the insect may be picked up and carried temporarily on the flat surface of the swatter head to a convenient point of disposal.
It sometimes happens when a fly or other insect is swatted, that its carcass rests in an area where the head of the swatter itself cannot be used to pick up the insect. In such instances, particularly where the insect is resting in a corner or closely along the edge of a window or window sill, it is difficult to pick up the carcass of the fly. Accordingly, another aspect of this invention is the provision of a swatter incorporating in the handle portion thereof a pincer-like tool which may be digitally manipulated to grasp the carcass of the insect and dispose of it in an appropriate receptacle.
The use of a pincer-type device as explained above requires a certain amount of digital dexterity and a rather delicate tactile sense in the fingers to enable picking up the carcass of an insect without mangling it. Picking up an insect in this manner, i.e., without mangling it, provides for a more sanitary method of disposing of the remains. However, because of the necessity for a highly developed tactile sense in the fingertips and digital dexterity in manipulating the pincers, it is sometimes difficult for older individuals, particularly those afflicted with arthritis in the fingers, to so manipulate the pincer. Accordingly, it is another object of this invention to provide an insect swatter including a handle or gripping portion including a tubular member having an elongated tapered slit in one periphery of the flexible tubular handle member so that the slit may be possitioned over the carcass of the insect and the handle merely squeezed to close the slit, thus depositing the remains of the dead insect within the tubular container formed by the handle itself. Obviously, the carcass may now be carried within the handle-container and deposited in an appropriate receptacle for disposal.
While it is not necessary in the manipulation of a swatter to strike the insect so hard as to smash it, nevertheless, such accidents do occur, and they occur sometimes because the person wielding the swatter is unable for many different reasons to gauge the strength or velocity with which the swatter should be manipulated to merely kill or stun the insect but not smash it. Accordingly, another object of the invention is the provision of a swatter incorporating a head formed from relatively soft and flexible synthetic resinous material in the nature of sponge rubber or polyurethane foam in sheet form and preferably of the open celled-type that is pervious to water. It has been found that a swatter having this type head may be easily manipulated to strike an insect, but because of its soft and flexible nature, it is more difficult to hit the insect with such force as to smash it.
Still another object of the invention is the provision of a swatter incorporating a scoop manipulable to scoop up the carcass of the insect.